Today, we are honored to announce the acquisition of Artifact Uprising, a Dashfire portfolio company, by VSCO. There is no singular path for startup success, just a number of right paths; most of which are celebrated as successful in hindsight. The founders of AU, Jenna, Katie, and Matty, paved their own path. In fact, had they shared their roadmap with the startup community, it would have likely received the standard “just what the world does not need, another photo book company” commentary. But AU didn’t follow the prescriptions of others. They were motivated to inspire their followers to be story tellers – to get off their devices and into their lives. And they did so by creating beautiful products that were built with purpose and passion. The products evangelized the creative community, and AU reciprocated by loving their customers with proactive support and engaging content. They infused sustainability in their products and invested back in their community, not for recognition, but but responsibility. The AU brand became both inspirational and aspirational and served as a barrier to imitators.

The Artifact team built a rocket that fueled its own impressive growth. But AU had the self-awareness to realize that joining VSCO’s team would allow them to accelerate the pursuit of their purpose and their mission. Jenna, Katie and the AU team will stay on board and, together with VSCO, will continue to pour every bit of passion and heart into Artifact Uprising – the only way they know how. Here is AU’s perspective.And VSCO’s.

I am grateful to have been on this journey with AU for the past 2 yearsThe effort has been exhilarating, demanding, and rewarding. I’m appreciative for the partnership we have had with Jenna and her team. Enabling AU is a true testament to the Dashfire model. And I’m perpetually thankful for Nick and my team – FarShore, Kelsey, and our investors at Dashfire – for providing Artifact the capacity they needed to blaze their own path.